December is the busiest month of the year for foodbanks, with 45% more referrals during the two weeks before Christmas. More than 90% of the food donations comes from the public.

The Trussell Trust runs the largest network of foodbanks in the UK, giving emergency food and support to people in crisis. Thirteen million people live below the poverty line and in the last year they gave 1,182,954 three-day emergency food supplies to people in crisis – up over 6% from the previous year. Of this number 436,938 went to children.

What is a Reverse Advent Calendar?

Traditionally advent calenders are something you open each day from the 1st to the 25th December and get a reward. It used to be a tiny picture or a chocolate, now adults can indulge themselves with everything from make up to alcohol!.

Instead with the Reverse Advent Calendar you start with nothing (empty box) and put one item for your local food bank into it every day. You could do this for 25 days to mirror the advent calendar – or perhaps for a whole month.

Follow us on social media to see our Advent grow!

Throughout December we will be posting updates on how our calender is growing and our aim is to donate over 60+ items in total.

Want to take part too? Its not to late to start!

Look at your local food bank’s website for the list of items they urgently need.

Donate long life items (tinned or dried) so as not to waste fresh food (which goes off quickly)

Get your donation to the food bank by early December for them to be useful for Christmas

If you want to collect an item a day as per the advent calender, then your donations will be just as welcome in January as winter sets in!

In one of the richest countries in the world, no one should be hungry at any time of year but especially not at Christmas. Dogsbody Technology hope to make a small difference to someone this Christmas.

New research out this week shows that the South East is falling behind other parts of the UK in the race to reduce youth unemployment. The study, by consulting firm EY, shows that the South East is now fourth in the league table of regional unemployment, down from second place in 2011.

The disparity in the number of young people in employment is starkest in the region’s key towns and cities, with Southampton, Brighton and Hove and Reading all having youth unemployment rates at higher than the regional average.

But local technology firms are looking to bridge the skills gap that divides young people and prevents them from gaining experience that leads to valuable jobs in the future. Farnborough businesses, Dogsbody Technology and Orcare are both on the hunt for their next apprentice through ApprenticeshipsInFarnborough.com.

Dan Benton, Director of Dogsbody Technology said, “Technology apprenticeships provide a valuable combination of on the job experience and structured learning that enable young people to develop the skills to help drive the growth of small businesses. It’s a real triple win for the apprentice, employer and the learning provider.”

Both Orcare and Dogsbody Technology typically employ school and college leavers with good GCSEs and or A-Levels, but have made a choice to not move onto University.

Advanced Apprenticeships result in qualifications equivalent to A-Levels, and apprentices gain valuable knowledge, skills and experience throughout their apprenticeship, all whilst earning a salary in the region of £150 per week. Alex Meyers, a recent graduate of the Orcare Technology Apprenticeship Programme said, “I was initially attracted by the opportunity to get out into the real world and work on real projects while learning new skills. But now the opportunity to earn a real salary and build up experience has put me in such a strong position in comparison to many people my age.”

Paul Marden, Director of Orcare said “In an environment where graduates are taking on astonishing levels of debt and then struggle to access well paid jobs because of an absence of experience, apprenticeships provide a very viable Plan A for young people looking for a route into a technology career.”

The team behind ApprenticeshipsInFarnborough.com are also looking to work with other local apprentice employers to raise the profile of apprenticeships in the local area.

NOTES TO EDITORSApprenticeships in Farnborough (apprenticeshipsinfarnborough.com) is a collaborative campaign to raise aspirations and reduce youth unemployment in Farnborough, enabling businesses to attract local talent.

Orcare Limited (orcare.com) is a Web Design and Digital Marketing Agency based in Farnborough, Hampshire. It specialises in developing easy to use websites that deliver real business benefit using Microsoft technologies to customers across London and the South East.

Dogsbody Technology Ltd. (dogsbodytechnology.com) is a Linux consultancy company based in Farnborough, Hampshire building and maintaining secure, reliable & scalable servers ensuring customers get the best out of technology.

It’s an old joke (which we updated to IPv6) but it’s true, there is no place like home. After a year of sharing an office with the wonderful Orcare Web Design it’s time to spread our wings and go it alone.

We haven’t moved far, approximately four miles to Farnborough and the beautiful Ferneberga House.

Ferneberga is actually the original name for Farnborough as listed in the Doomsday book. Over time it changed from Ferneberga to Farnburghe, Farenberg, Farnborowe, Fremborough, Farneborough and eventually Farnborough. Ferneberga House used to be the town hall, a historic building that has stood here for over 100 years.

So, if you’re in the area and fancy a chat then do feel free to give us a call and pop in.

https://www.dogsbodytechnology.com/wp-content/uploads/feet-up.jpg10001500Dan Bentonhttps://www.dogsbodytechnology.com/wp-content/uploads/Dogsbody-Group.pngDan Benton2013-07-07 14:17:012015-10-01 15:01:46There's no place like ::1